Morganna: And Nothing Stands...
by Joy
Summary: Suicide. Violence. Some swearing. Morganna & friends are back from *Between* but things have changed while they've been gone.


**Morganna 3: And Nothing Stands**

[By Joy ][1]

A bit of bad language and violence as usual...

(This story focuses mostly on suicide. While I'm the first to admit this is a serious topic, I refuse to lose my sense of humour. Neither have I pulled many punches. This is an Adult Theme kiddies, if this isn't quite your cup of tea, wait for part 4 which isn't nearly as depressing. That said, happy reading.)

This story is dedicated to my grade 11 English teacher.

* * *

There was a moment before Morganna reappeared when her attention was diverted from the overwhelming light of The Gate. 

~That looks suspiciously like a chessboard~ the part of her consciousness still capable of thought reported. ~What the hell is a Chess board doing here?~ she wondered. She was contemplating the fact that she was still capable of wonder after the adventures she'd just been through, when the edge of her awareness caught a glimpse of the entities playing.

She recoiled at even that glimpse; she couldn't possibly hope to comprehend the players but she knew she wanted nothing to do with them. So much power with such differences between them made her distinctly uneasy.

Feeling like a bug compared to a pair of disagreeing Gods she realised that the chessboard was just her mind's way of representing something far beyond her understanding.

Badly wanting to run away before she was noticed but not knowing **how**, she looked at the chess board again. The being with the white pieces (~I suppose that's my mind's way of saying they're the "good guy" ~ ) had just made a move that seemed suicidal. 

~ Why is he giving away all those pieces? ~ Morganna had such a fondness for a good game of chess that the idea of such an idiotic move was almost a personal affront. ~ It has to be part of some strategy ~ she decided still confused. ~ Because if omnipotent beings were really that stupid I don't think the universe would have come so far. So what's the Strategy? ~ 

She glared at the board as though that would encourage it to reveal its secrets and in doing so noticed an insignificant white pawn tucked off to the side. ~ So that's the plan! ~ she exclaimed. In taking those pieces left up for grabs, the other side would leave a path for that pawn to the other side of the board. ~ Still, ~ she reflected, weighing up the cost for one pawn to be upgraded, ~ that's a lot to pay for one-~

Her thought was cut off by the light of The Gate intensifying around her once more and the next thing she knew she was collapsed on some very familiar carpet.

"- Queen."

Morganna looked up from where was slumped and decided to try to forget about that weird chess game. With more immediate things to worry about, it wasn't hard to shove all thought of it aside in favour of checking out her surroundings.

~ Well, the **carpet's** familiar ~ she thought, brushing her brownish chestnut hair away from her eyes. ~ So far so good. ~ 

The eighteen year old pulled herself onto her feet and had a good look around. After ending up in that weird realm _Between_ the last time she took a Gate, she was reserving judgment on whether or not they were back home.

~ It Looks like Jess' dressing room ~ Her eyes darted to the floor and she breathed a sigh of relief. Both her best friend Lilith and Jess, famous TV cook were collapsed on the floor. Neither were breathing but that was normal.

~ At least we're still together. ~ she thought thankfully and moved over to the glass doors. With a swift yank she pulled back the thick curtains and found herself squinting into the dawn. "Ack-!" She shaded her eyes and checked the scenery. It certainly **looked** like the studio.

"Yesss!" She exalted. "We're back!"

Using her powers over gravity, she floated herself off the floor and twirled in place. "You hear that?" she asked her still unconscious companions. Looking over at them she realised with a start that her shadow was the only thing between certain of their extremities and the sunlight.

"Shit!" She hurriedly pulled the curtains closed. Leaning back against the curtains she slid down the doors until she reached the floor. ~ That was almost Too close! ~ 

~I wonder how long we've been gone? ~ Her gaze flickered around the room as she thought. ~ Long enough for them to have cleaned the place up, ~ she remembered how most of the mess had happened and frowned at the memory of Todd the Hunter throwing her novel into the potplant which was even now sitting innocently in the corner. ~ But not long enough for them to have moved someone else in here, ~ she finished the thought with the first stirring's of relief; Jess' photos were still up.

If she'd been gone only a day (or less!) she'd be able to cover up her little trip easily. Any longer and she'd have to break out some creative lies, or as she'd heard one of her friends once say "use her imagination rather than her memory".

Morganna really hated having to lie. She preferred to just change the topic or ignore the question as had become her habit whenever anyone brought up the existence of mutants. She knew for a fact however that if she'd been gone too long it would be impossible to avoid answering for very long. 

The young mutant sighed and tapped her fingers against the by now battered novel clutched protectively in her lap. "_The Fifth Sacred Thing_" by Starhawk had been part of this caper since the start and thanks to numerous interruptions she **still** hadn't finished reading it. It was in bad shape (grass stains, dirt marks, crushed pages...) and she sighed again looking at it. ~I feel as bad as it looks. ~ 

Morganna was thirsty, hungry, tired and dirty. 

~I wonder if there's anything to eat around here? ~ her eyes were drawn to the mini-fridge on the other side of the room and her stomach rumbled in an unsubtle suggestion.

"All right, all right," she muttered, standing on tired legs and hobbling over. The fridge itself was a rather ordinary affair but her hunger and thirst were encouraging visions of halo's and neon signs. 

Despite all this she didn't really expect to find anything edible. Any food that Jess **did** keep would be just for appearances sake with used by dates several years old and she wasn't about to start drinking blood.

Suppressing a shudder she opened the fridge and while it **was** stacked with a collection of bottles with labels like "AB-" and "high cholesterol", it wasn't a complete loss. There was a bottle of water that she reached for as soon as she saw it and a half empty packet of Timtams.

Shutting the door with a hip, she gulped down half the bottle of water and started single-mindedly munching her way through the chocolate biscuits. It wasn't **real** food but you wouldn't hear **her** complaining.

No longer thirsty and with her hunger retreating for the moment, she took stock of the situation. She wasn't sure how she'd get home but she knew she couldn't hang around. Lilith -if not Jess too- would wake up in a blood frenzy, and best friend or not she wasn't going to hang around to be drained. 

The mutant knew that their kind used blood for healing. While _"Between" _Jess had fallen down a mountain and Lilith received a bad case of sunburn saving Morganna's life. With wounds like that she'd be surprised if they had any control over the blood lust at all.

Nibbling the last of the Timtams she checked herself over for anything useful like money. All she came up with was a book that had seen better days, the twisted filigree silver amulet that was The Gate, a finger missing a nail that still throbbed, empty pockets and no shoes. She didn't even have her keys but since she hadn't locked her balcony door when she left, it wouldn't be too much of a problem even if she had to sneak back in.

Scrounging up a blunt pencil and a scrap of paper she scribbled out a brief note to let them know she was all right and hurried out the door. She really didn't want to be anywhere nearby when they awoke.

* * *

Lilith Adams awoke slowly and painfully. The Gates were not meant for her kind and it seemed they weren't above some petty revenge when they were forced to accommodate them.

Any other slightly rational thoughts she might have had disappeared the moment she awoke fully and smelt blood.

Vision fading into a red mist, her fangs came down and she bared them in a growl that along with her glowing eyes would have frightened away a Mortal's sanity. Reminded of her best friend she struggled to see if Morganna was near. Her mortal heart wasn't close enough to beat its hypnotic pulse into her eardrums and she couldn't sense the warmth of **any** mortals. 

In Lilith's relief at finding her friend gone, _the Beast_ regained control and the humanity that had eased itself onto her face was swept aside by its rampaging blood lust.

But _the Beast_ was confused. It could smell blood but there was no living warmth to go with it. Taking advantage of its uncertain pause, Lilith clawed her way out from under its grip and using every scrap of her will forced it back. It was _the_ _Beast_ that drained away humanity and shaped her kind into true monsters. Giving into it even once strengthened its grip.

Some said that giving into _the Beast_ was inevitable and as a fledgling she could afford to lose the battle now and again. Lilith begged to differ. She'd lost so much already because of what she'd become: the sun, eating, breathing, most of her old friends, being able to visit her family often. She refused to give up the last shreds of her humanity too.

The red haze of her near Frenzy faded and she was able to see the bottles of blood resting on top of the mini-fridge. Bottled blood was never as strong as that drawn from a living person but it was safer all round; in her current state she probably would have completely drained who ever she drank from. Another victory for the Beast that she was glad to avert.

She sneered inwardly at _the Beast_ in triumph as she managed to guzzle down several bottles without losing control. Thirst slaked, the blood lust retreated, leaving the young red-head feeling light headed but physically stronger. Not needing to breath but panting from habit, the young fledgling carefully rested the half empty bottle in her hand back on top of the fridge.

"If you're back in control Lil, there's something you should see."

Lilith twisted to face the door in surprise, hitting her hip on the side of the fridge as she did so and sending the bottles on top of it shaking erratically.

"Jess!" She shrieked, hand going to her barelybeating heart in a mortal gesture she had yet to lose. "Don't scare me like that! I take it you left out the blood? Thanks." 

"Actually that was me," the woman in the doorway just behind Jess replied. Dressed in revealing black clothes, Sunshine Eldridge of the Malkavian Clan stood with her arms filled with newspapers. Her golden eyes peered over the bundle with a serious gleam and her short ebony hair was more mussed than usual.

"Oh. You're here too." Lilith acknowledged her presence with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. 

"While you were gone I looked after the place," Sunshine explained as she strode into the room and dumped her burden onto the coffee table. "I restocked the fridge in case you were thirsty when you came back. I even put some stuff for Morganna in there."

"That reminds me," Lilith interjected as Jess closed the door and walked over to stand near Sunshine. "Where is she?" ~ Not that I'm not glad she missed my little feeding frenzy, ~ she added to herself.

Jess shared a long look with Sunshine then pulled a scrap of paper from a pocket and handed it to her protege. "She was gone before I woke but she left a note."

_"I'm fine, gotta get home before they worry too much. See you guys later. -MW"_

Lilith read out loud. "That's Morganna all right," she commented.

"I must have just missed her when I ducked out to get more blood," Sunshine shook her head, her face scrunched up in worry.

"What's the matter?" Lilith felt the tension in the room coil about her and squeeze hard. Her usually cheerful mentor was leaning stone-faced against a wall and the insane Kindred next to the couch looked like she was about to wring her hands in despair. "What's happened?"

* * *

Morganna exhaled in relief as she finally reached her home street. There had been a few minor problems on the way but she hadn't been delayed very much. It was still morning but the sun had risen enough to take away the faint chill in the air.

Thankful for that small favour, she paused to catch her breath under the shade of a large tree at the base of a hill. ~I don't know what's worse ~ she reflected, resting her feet on some soft grass. ~ All the frick'n hills in Brisbane or the fact I've gotten used to them. ~ 

She grinned to herself and brushed her hair out of her eyes when the breeze tossed it in her face. ~ Home at last ~ she smiled as she raised her arms to the sky. That cloudless bowl of pure blue looked so tempting that she had to remind herself several times why she couldn't just go flying. ~ If those idiotic F.O.H. would all just grow a brain I wouldn't **have** to hide my powers, ~ she grumbled inwardly. Flying was the ultimate freedom, the ultimate rush - she loved it almost as much as a good fantasy novel. Due to the F.O.H. and their hysteria she was forced to abstain most of the time, which made her grumpy. ~Don't give them a target and hopefully they'll just fade like every other phase does, ~ she told herself. ~ Stupidity can't last **that** long can it? ~ 

Pushing all thought of the F.O.H. aside with the ease of long practice, she rested her hands on her hips and looked up at the hill. ~ Almost there, ~ she encouraged herself with visions of a hot shower, all the food in the kitchen and her own bed. 

Book clutched in one hand, she started climbing, reminding herself to check the corner shop for the date. ~I really hope I haven't missed Christmas. ~ 

* * *

"Read this," Sunshine tossed the top newspaper at her and after a stiff nod of assent from Jess, the teenager bent her head to read.

"So we've only been gone a few days?" she commented, focusing on the date and ignoring the rest of the front page.

"That paper's about three months old Lilith," Sunshine looked pointedly at the other papers.

"Keep reading," Jess ordered in a tone so grim her student automatically obeyed.

"Oh my God..." her murmur trailed off as she read the front page. She looked up a moment later completely stunned. "Morganna..."

* * *

The top of the hill afforded quite a view and the young mutant took the chance to look towards her home. One glance and the shock hit her hard enough to drop her to her knees. 

Suddenly the sun was too bright and the breeze didn't seem so playful any more. The sky no longer appeared so appealing and instead was cold and empty. '_The Fifth Sacred Thing'_ fell from her nerveless fingers as she stared unable to look away.

Her home of the past year was no more. All that was left of the small apartment building was its charred skeleton.

* * *

_"Authorities say that the attack was fuelled by the rising Mutant Hysteria-"_

_"-Several high ranking members of the Friends of Humanity have been implicated-"_

_"-nearly everyone else was out celebrating the new year so there were few witnesses-"_

_"Sources say that the victims were gathered in memory of a young woman who went missing-"_

_"Friends and family of missing Morganna Waters were attacked-"_

_"The mob-"_

_"-building burnt to the ground"_

_"-War scene"_

_"No survivors"_

Lilith collapsed onto the couch and wept like a child, fragments of the articles she'd just read flashing through her mind.

"Morganna," she sobbed. Her head shot up and she tried to wipe away the blood tears that streamed down her cheeks. "I've got to stop her," she jumped to her feet. "She can't-"

"Are you blind childe?" Sunshine demanded, grabbing her shoulder and pushing her back onto the couch. "The sun's risen. There's nothing we can do until night. Don't let your grief interfere with your mind." Her golden eyes bored into Lil's and she reluctantly stayed where she was.

"Maybe she hasn't found out yet," she began desperately. Her face was already smeared with red and new tears were forging fresh tracks downwards. "Maybe..."

"She knows."

"How can you say that?!" Lil went back to glaring at Sunshine.

"An entire family plus friends being slaughtered in their own home by a mob is the sort of news story that takes months - years to fade. Added to all the mutant hysteria it's brought under the spotlight, it's still making headlines."

"But she wouldn't get the full story-" Lil began desperately.

"Oh she may not hear all the details," the Malkavian allowed. "But I'm sure she'll find out the bottom line."

* * *

Morganna Waters was an eighteen and a half year old mutant who could control gravity. She was an average sized girl with chestnut hair just past her shoulders and red/brown eyes. She attended university and studied physics.

And life as she knew it had come to an end.

Her thoughts were a chaotic buzz at the back of her mind as she investigated what was left of her home. The entire building was derelict and likely not very stable. Morganna was too deep in shock to care if it fell on her.

The left over police tape didn't prove much of a barrier since the door itself had been battered down by the mob. She'd spent several months living with her elder brother, both of them attending University. It had always seemed so small, with only two bedrooms and no ensuites.

It looked somehow larger now. All that remained of the furniture were a few charred fragments. Soot and melted plastic was all that was left of her brother's impressive comic collection while her own prized book collection was nothing more than several piles of ash.

The windows had been smashed and the security gratings ripped off, letting the harsh wind stir at the sooty remains of her home. Everything she owned was gone - the lamp she'd broken when she left had lots of company now.

But the destruction wasn't what really tore at her. 

It was the sight of large splashes of rusty brown on the walls and the floor. ~ Shouldn't they have faded by now? ~ she almost begged. ~ There's so much soot, ash. Why can I still see all that blood? ~ 

The shock was starting to wear off and she started to shake in reaction. So much blood. Tears gathered and poured from her eyes in a seamless torrent as her legs refused to support her, dumping the girl onto the floor.

"Oh gods," she sobbed, knees clutched to her heaving chest. "This can't be real. This-" she couldn't finish. Breathing hurt, her face hurt and her nose was clogged up from the tears.

~ No no no no no no. ~ Her soul cried out. ~ They can't be dead! They can't. Please no. not them, not them. Goddess please? Please don't let them be dead. Don't leave me! Gods. I want them back I. Want. Them. Back. ~

Her eyes didn't glow and no aura flashed but her powers answered the plea from the bottom of her heart and lashed out at the surroundings.

The building shuddered unsteadily.

Morganna didn't even look up at the sounds of creaking above her.

"Let me die." She enunciated carefully.

The building fell on her.

* * *

It was dark. It was damp, the ground was cold and hard and she could hear the faint sound of running water. ~ This had better be the Other Side and not somebody's bathroom with the light switched off or there's going to be some very serious unrestrained violence happening. ~ 

She meant every word of her threat but despite her grief she was looking forward to seeing everyone. She felt so guilty about not being there that she couldn't regret passing over. Everyone she cared about who didn't drink blood was dead. All her possessions were gone. Her life had disappeared in the months she'd been Between.

~I even missed Christmas. ~ 

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she realised she was standing next to an underground river. In the distance there was a gleam of light and with nowhere else to go she walked over to it.

The light proved to be coming from a lantern hanging from a gnarled staff. The staff itself was propped up in the front of a rickety looking boat which was partially beached.

"Where in Hades is it?" a gruff voice drifted up from what she'd assumed was a pile of rags. A pile of dirty rags at that. "Teach me to count my coins," he grunted. Now that she knew he **wasn't** a pile of rags (dirty rags) she could see that he was crouched at the bottom of the boat looking for something. "Nearly dropped the bloody things in the river."

"Ahemm!" She cleared her throat noisily in an effort to get his attention.

"Ack!" with surprising agility the shabbily dressed figure jumped up and twisted to face her. It was an impressive feat considering he did the turning in mid-air.

"Who? What?" he demanded in a scattered voice, peering at her from the darkness under his tattered hood.

"I'm Morganna Waters," she introduced herself.

**...**

"I want to get to the other side," ~ idiot ~ she finished mentally. Why the hell else would someone turn up on death's shores?

He looked her up and down in the most insulting fashion. "So you're the one they were asking about. Hmph."

"Who?!"

"Big group a while back. Asked if you'd been through. Said no." He shrugged. "They looked caught between relief and disappointment after that. Although there was one that turned up a bit later who didn't look at all surprised. Bizarre." 

"Oh well you see..." she started explaining how she'd been accidentally sent to the realm "_Between_" and had to win her way free. When she held up the Gate to show him what she was talking about he glared at the twisted silver so intensely she broke off her story in mid-sentence.

"Oh. You're **that** one." He declared still glaring, although **how** she knew his expression when his face was in shadow was beyond her. "Go back the way you came Gate Keeper."

"Gate Keeper? What the Hell are you talking about?" Morganna demanded angrily. 

"You mean you don't know?" Now he was glaring at **her**. "Obviously you did the whole ritual or you wouldn't even be here.." He muttered on to himself for a time while Morganna's temper did a quick boil.

If this walking pile of cleaning rags thought that she'd just turn around and go back to living without everything that defined her life... The thought trailed off into contemplations of extreme violence.

"Go back!" he growled and she felt herself thrown back into her body.

* * *

"My God," Lilith gasped as she saw what was left of her best friend's apartment building. 

"I thought it had only been set on fire, not knocked down," Jess commented with the calmness of a woman with several decades of experience under her belt.

"It wasn't," Sunshine told them also looking over the pile of wreckage that remained of the burnt out building. "I stopped here last night and it was still standing. It looked damn ugly but it **was** still standing."

"You think Morganna did this?" Lilith demanded, not quite willing to believe it.

"Why don't we see if she's hanging around?" Jess intervened and led the way to the ruins. Their constant bickering was starting to wear away at her natural good humour and it wouldn't be long before she told them both to shut up. While they'd been moderately well behaved that morning it hadn't lasted. Apart from the time they'd spent sleeping, the pair had either pointedly ignored each other or gone to the other extreme yelling at the top of their lungs.

"Why are you hanging around anyway?" Lilith asked the Malkavian Clan member as they approached the dimly lit rubble. 

"Maybe it's because she's a friend and I don't want to see her hurt?" the raven haired woman suggested.

Lilith tossed her head and snorted disbelievingly.

"I could be after her to see what she did with my magick book." 

"I'd believe it but she returned that book before we left."

"She did?" Sunshine asked with innocent surprise.

She was glared at by angry blue/green eyes. "Try again."

"The library lost its copy of _The Fifth Sacred Thing_'." She shrugged. "I wanted to borrow hers."

Lilith looked at her in disgust. "Why don't you just buy a copy? You **are** richer than God." Even as she spoke, the red-head couldn't believe she was being so bitchy. It was true she didn't trust Sunshine or any of her clan but she usually just kept her mouth shut and waited for her to leave.

~I wish I knew that Morganna was all right, ~ she inwardly admitted the reason for her lack of restraint.

"Would you two shut the bloody hell up!?" Jess hissed at them, stopping the argument in its tracks.

The others were so shocked they forgot themselves long enough to share a look of surprise. Jess **never** lost her temper.

"I thought I heard something," Jess went on.

Her protege followed her example and listened carefully. "What am I supposed to be listening to?" She asked after a few moments of feeling silly. "I can't hear anything."

"I hear it," Sunshine said, head tilted the better to listen. "A heartbeat."

Jess nodded.

Lilith tried again and this time knowing what she was listening for had no trouble hearing the sound of a mortal heart. "This is really weird," she said as all three tried to pinpoint its origin.

"It's coming from under that," Jess realised, pointing at what was left of the apartment building.

"Morganna?!" Lil screeched. Who else could it be?

"Morganna if you can hear us - we'll get you out," Jess promised as the three Kindred crouched near the large scorched remains and tried to figure out how to do exactly that.

"Pity she doesn't just use her powers," Sunshine commented.

Lil looked over at her incredulously. "She's buried under a building, I think that's a good enough reason for her powers not to work. **_I'm sure it's a very stressful situation_**!" the teenager's voice did a quick climb into hysteria.

Sunshine merely rolled her eyes. Taking a good grip on the closest bit of wreckage she lifted it up and threw it over her shoulder.

Jess and Lilith stared. She'd just thrown a piece of concrete the size of a car with all the ease of someone throwing a basketball.

"I didn't know you could do that," Lilith was still in awe several minutes later when the Malkavian took a break after clearing a moderate sized crater.

"Hmm. Yes, Well it's also not common knowledge that I can yodel the lord's prayer backwards but these aren't **really** the sort of things one brags about."

"I dunno about that," Lil muttered to herself, "you bragged about the time you convinced some fledglings they could fly and they fell to their deaths."

"Yes but that was funny."

* * *

The racket above her finally got too much for her. ~ Don't they realise that if I **wanted** to get out I would have **done** so by now? ~ She complained inwardly. 

~ Damn. They're not giving up. Might as well save myself the headache and finish the job for them. ~ 

* * *

Suddenly the air above was filled with floating rubble.

"What the-?"

A familiar quite dirty looking figure pushed her way out from under pieces of now weightless concrete. 

Lilith and Jess turned to glare at Sunshine. They'd noticed the same thing. "You insane Malkavian!" Lil shouted. "You weren't digging her free, you were burying her even more!" 

Sunny snickered, greatly amused.

Luckily for Jess' peace of mind her protégé was brought back to the matter at hand by a peeved Morganna who was glaring at all three of them.

"Mor- God! You're covered in blood." Lilith exclaimed before anyone else had a chance to open their mouths.

Morganna looked down and noticed for the first time that her clothes were torn and soaked with blood. "Why so I am," she agreed. She wasn't very worried; whatever wounds had caused them had been healed when she came back to life. Her missing fingernail was even back. Obviously who (or what) ever had healed her had been a perfectionist. Either that or sloppy.

"What happened?"

"The building fell on me, what are you blind?"

"Are you all right?" Lil asked ignoring her friend's tone.

"Physically, I'm fine. Unfortunately." She scowled at the ground and dropped the floating rubble as emphasis. She just **knew** that she'd been healed so that when her spirit was sent back she didn't just die again. That ugly Boatman had probably insisted on it so he didn't get bothered again. 

"What do you mean **Unfortunately**?" Lil asked suspiciously.

Morganna glared at everyone and nobody in particular. "That stupid bloody Boatman refused to let me cross."

"You met Charon?" Sunshine interrupted.

"If he's an insulting, ugly, badly dressed-"

"Yeah that's him." She agreed. "Tell him hi for me would you?"

Morganna shrugged. "Sure Sunny. In between insulting his parentage and shoving that lantern of his up his-"

"You're not actually planning on going back there are you?" Lil demanded.

Morganna looked at her friend sadly and shared a look with Sunshine. If Lilith could still be so naive after more than a year of _Eternal Night_, **she** wasn't about to educate her.

"How did they find out?" the chestnut haired mutant wondered out loud.

"Who?" Jess asked, confused at the sudden change in topic.

"The F.O.H. How did they know about me?" Morganna explained.

Jess wondered for a moment why she'd think of that rather than why it happened. ~ Of course that's the sort of question you'd never be able to answer properly. ~ 

"Well actually..." Jess began.

"What?"

"They weren't after **you**"

"What!?"

"Your brother was a mutant too apparently."

"What!!?"

"At least that's what the autopsy reported."

"How-" She couldn't finish and had to start again. "How did he die?"

The two Ventrue looked everywhere but at her.

Sunshine, being a member of the Malkavian Clan and therefore crazy, had no problems. "He was tortured to death. They couldn't even use dental records to identify him so it took them a while to figure out who he was."

Morganna visibly trembled at the news. Both Jess and Lilith glared at Sunshine with little effect.

"That reminds me," Sunshine added. "Can I borrow _The Fifth Sacred Thing_'?"

Morganna looked at her blankly then at the novel she clutched in one hand. "It's not in very good condition," she said unsteadily. "A building fell on it."

Sunshine looked at the book, the mutant, what was left of the building and started laughing.

The two Ventrue glared at her with sternly disapproving looks. Morganna burst into tears then burst into helpless laughter too.

Lilith and Jess shared looks of resignation then shook their heads as the laughter with the not so faint hysterical edge to it rose around them.

* * *

The Graveyard was a nice enough place but just how attractive can a plot of land filled with dead people be?

After recovering from her hysterical crying fit, Morganna had been led to this unhappy place and introduced to a large collection of graves with familiar names inscribed above them.

"Hi there Peter," she softly greeted as she knelt before his tombstone. "I hope you're resting ok. You certainly deserve it. You always used to be such an insomniac - especially around test-time. Remember that time you got no sleep at all and almost fell asleep behind the wheel? I laughed so hard when Arthur told me about it - and it wasn't at all funny. Just the way he said it, just-." She broke off unable to speak.

The tears had been flowing for a long time now and she no longer tried to stop them. Maybe if she cried long enough they'd stop and the pain would go away.

The next grave belonged to one of her favourite teachers from high school. She'd noticed very few university people but wasn't too surprised as she'd kept mostly to herself. An inclination that had to've kept down the body count.

"Hey Mr Reid," she said. "I'm really sorry now that I kept disagreeing with all those English assignments. Well not really sorry but I wish I could've told you that I never meant it personally. Even if I did refer in one of them to the "Indoctrinating efforts of the year 11 English course"." She smiled through the tears at the memory. "You gave me a B- for that assignment. That's the lowest I ever got for English." She shook her head sadly. "I made my friends laugh for weeks telling them what I'd written."

She paused. "I really did respect you. You were a good teacher."

"There you are Liz," she said to the next grave. "I'm really going to miss you old friend. I've known you since primary school when we thought toilet humour was the funniest stuff we'd heard. What's life going to be like without all of your enthusiasm? You never even got the chance to introduce me to your new boyfriend." Morganna choked on a sob. "Blessed Be. May the Goddess watch over you where ever you are. I hope I see you soon."

The last four graves were going to be the worst which was why she'd left them until last.

She sat down in front of her parents graves and crossed her legs. "I hope Charon didn't grind your nerves too badly Arthur," she addressed her brother's grave which was to the right of her parents. On the other side was a tombstone with her own name on it. 

"Of course you probably irritated the hell out of him anyway." She smiled ruefully. "Which explains why he was so peeved to see me."

"She's been talking to herself for the past three and a half hours," Aaron reported uneasily. The Kindred was dressed in black - black jeans, shirt, boots and leather jacket. It was his normal look - his Clan was a Clan full of rebels. It did however suit the locale very well.

"She's not talking to herself, she's talking to the graves," Lil corrected her boyfriend huffily.

"She's talking to **dead** people? Is that meant to be an improvement?"

"**We're** mostly dead and she talks to us," the red-head retorted. "You're an ill-bred Brujah and I don't know why you're hanging around if you're just going to be rude."

"You asked this ill-bred Brujah to support you in your time of need," he reminded her.

"What on earth was I thinking?" she hid her face in her hands.

Deciding it was time to use a bit of charm, the young member of the Brujah Clan slipped his arms around her waist from behind and murmured an answer in her ear.

Lilith blushed to the roots of her hair, which was quite an accomplishment for one of her kind. "Aaron!" she yelped. 

Jess looked over at her protege and shook her head in resignation. Their clans were meant to despise each other and they **still** found time to flirt. In a graveyard no less.

"Oh let them have their fun," Sunshine told her with a careless wave as she approached. 

"Where have you been?" Jess asked her.

"Didn't I tell you?" the raven haired kindred began. "I was just visiting my grave."

"Your what?!" 

"My grave," she repeated. "I like to tidy it up now and again. Those roses can be a real bitch to cut back."

"I didn't know you had a grave."

"Well I do."

"Oh. So, um, see any one interesting?" Jess felt like the captain of a sinking ship; the conversation was **really** getting away from her.

"Dita dropped by. Her grave's a few down and she wanted some roses."

Jess looked a little green; a good trick with skin so pale. "Dita? Is she still..."

"Bent on revenge?" Sunshine nodded cheerfully. "She's also still packing a fire axe and that pair of desert eagle's **and** using barbed wire as a fashion accessory."

"Crazy Caitiff," Jess muttered, using the derogatory name for clanless Kindred.

"Jess!" Sunshine shrieked playfully. "And here I was thinking you were trying to **suppress** all of your snobbish Ventrue prejudices!"

Jess groaned.

"So what's happening over here?" Lil asked as she walked over with her boyfriend in tow.

"I was just telling Jess about my grave."

"Your grave?" Lil was surprised. "When did you die?"

"I committed suicide," Sunny shrugged. "Why the hell else do you think I was embraced?"

The others glanced at each other and shrugged. "I'd **heard** that was a common way Malkavian's chose their progeny..." Jess offered.

"Malkavian!? Who's a Malkavian?" Sunshine twisted about looking for the intruder. "Where are they?" She demanded. 

"They're all weirdos aren't they?" Aaron said in a conversational tone to the two Ventrue as Sunshine continued to look around nervously.

Lilith nodded absently. She was thinking of her comment about suicide. ~ Maybe she could talk to Morganna and-~

"**Don't** even suggest it." Jess commanded her protege.

"Huh?"

"I can tell what you're thinking Childe," it was a bit of a shock hearing Jess use such a derogatory word for a young Kindred. "Do you really want a Malkavian who committed suicide talking to your best friend who has already tried to kill herself?"

"Good point," Lilith's expression was faintly queasy at the thought.

* * *

Morganna could hear them muttering behind her. They'd been doing it for a while now but she'd been too busy talking to her family's graves to notice them. All she could think of was her family. Private jokes and shared memories.

"She's been there for hours."

"The sun's going to rise soon."

"Doesn't look like she's planning on moving."

"What should we do?"

"Why not ask her?"

"In **her** state of mind?"

"You've got to be kidding."

"Yeah, you first."

There was the sound of softly approaching feet. Morganna looked over at the source of the noise then turned away.

The feet hurried back the way they came.

"Well?"

"She Looked at me." Even speaking, the capitalised Look was evident.

"So what do we do?" this voice sounded a mite desperate. "I'm not about to hang around and get burnt to ash."

They started to argue and Morganna decided to intervene.

"I would appreciate some privacy. Why don't you all go home and I'll catch up with you later?" She suggested in a reasonable tone.

Well it sounded reasonable to **her**. Jess, Lil and Aaron seemed to take it differently and wasted no time in leaving her to her solitude.

Sunny watched them leave then went to join Morganna. The mutant had other ideas and used another Look.

After that Sunshine decided to go elsewhere. The Malkavian Clan might be crazy but they weren't stupid.

Morganna spent most of the day asleep on her parent's graves and woke in a bad mood. Visions of the painful deaths of those closest to her had kept her from getting any real rest. Even deepest sleep's oblivion had been out of reach.

~ Don't think ~ she ordered herself harshly. ~ Don't think - don't feel. ~ 

The young mutant forced herself to inwardly turn her back on her feelings. If she avoided thinking about it she wouldn't have to feel.

She launched herself into the sky. She didn't care if the flatscans saw her. ~ Let them panic, let them wonder, ~ she dismissed the non-mutants from her mind. ~ What more can they do? ~ 

She lost herself in the sheer joy of flying. For a time at least she could try to forget.

* * *

~ How the hell did they find me? ~ Morganna asked herself. She was sitting on a bridge spaning the Brisbane river. Traffic rushed past in the early evening darkness, headlights shining in her eyes as cars went by.

Approaching by the walkway were Lil and Sunshine. 

"Go away!" she yelled at them, not in the mood to talk.

"We need to talk Morganna," Lilith said grimly.

"What?"

"You tried to kill yourself didn't you?" the red haired Kindred demanded.

Morganna glared at her almost guilty looking companion. She didn't think it was possible for Sunny to look outright guilty.

Sunshine shrugged. "Well she asked what we meant by Charon the boatman. I just explained you'd killed yourself but been sent back."

"I can't believe you did that!" Lil shrieked at her best friend."I can't believe you're going to try it again!"

"What are you yelling at me for?!" Morganna shot back. "I'm the one who just had her entire family slaughtered!"

"But **you're** still alive!" Lilith was close enough now to shove her face close to her friend's.

"Yes. I am." Morganna agreed turning away, eyes watering. "I'll fix that in a moment though."

"I won't let you kill yourself," Lil told her.

"How are you going to stop me?" the mutant floated herself above their heads and looked down at them disdainfully.

Lilith ground her teeth in frustration. "It won't unmake what happened you know," she said brutally.

"I don't care." Morganna's voice was flat.

Her friend lost her temper. 

"I can't believe how **selfish** you're being!" she yelled and jumped up to grab at her floating friend. Morganna dodged easily and returned the favour. Lilith struggled for a brief moment, helpless in the grip of her gravitational powers.

"This has got **nothing** to do with them does it?! It's all about **you**! Do you really think they want you to kill yourself and give up what was taken away from them forcefully?! You're stronger than this Morganna. I know you are!"

"No I'm not," Morganna disagreed. She was crying again but she didn't seem able to stop. "I give up do you hear me?! I give up on life! And you wanna know why?" the tears were pouring down her face now. "Cause I'm a selfish Bitch like you say and **I** **can't** stand the pain any more!"

"Morganna-" Lilith began brokenly.

"I'm not as strong as you are," Morganna ignored her, spitting out the words like the world's worst insult.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked suspiciously from where she floated directly opposite.

"You seem to be handling this very well. I don't think I've seen you shed one tear. They were your friends too you know! All you've done is bitch to me about how self- centred I am."

Lilith growled deep in her throat. "Of all the-!" She gripped her temper in both hands.

"I have no one left Lil," the mutant tried to explain. 

"Well what about me?" Lilith felt abandoned. 

"You're already dead," Morganna folded her arms and looked out over the river. It was actually rather pretty with all the city lights reflected on its surface. She didn't notice. "You've just been cheating death for a while."

"She's got a point." Sunshine had been watching the argument from the sidelines but felt obliged to add her two cents.

"SHUT UP!" her fellow Kindred bellowed, glaring with _the Beast_ in her eyes.

"How am I supposed to survive without you Morganna? You're my only mortal friend. You knew me before I was Embraced. Will you put me through **your** pain too?"

"I, Lil-" her words were cut off by a sob. "You had your chance and decided to live in Eternal Darkness rather than die. I'm not that strong."

The young Ventrue felt the blood tears gather in her eyes at the sheer despair in her best friend's voice. 

"You're my best friend Lilith and I'd die for you. But don't ask me to live for you. It wouldn't be living if I only did it for someone else's sake. You see that don't you?"

"Morganna- Please-" tears of blood streaked down her face as Lilith pleaded. "Don't do this." 

"I know you're avoiding it all by worrying about me but you're going to have to feel the pain eventually. When you do you'll understand why I'm doing this." Morganna forced a smile and gently set her friend back on the bridge. She tossed Lilith her copy of _The fifth Sacred Thing_'.

"Look after this for me would you? Farewell my friend," she soared up into the faintly sparkling sky.

She flew until the cold gripped her in its freezing claws and her breath was coming in gasps. She paused briefly then spun around and hurtled straight down.

Morganna didn't just let herself go, she used her full powers to increase her speed until the distant lights of the city flashed into sight in the blink of an eye. ~I want to go home. I want to wake up. I want to leave! ~ 

Sunshine and Lilith were talking. Or rather Sunshine was talking about how life was one big joke with the punch line being death and Lil was worriedly searching the sky for her friend.

The potential fight was interrupted by a Morganna sized object that impacted on the river with a enough force to douse the two in river water.

"Oh God." Lilith gasped as water dripped from her nose and diluted the blood streaked down her cheeks. Traffic halted in amazement but neither Kindred paid it any mind. ~ Flatscan Wights, ~ the redhead thought derisively using a combination of mutant and Kindred terms for normal' people. ~ That's it why don't you all leave your cars and watch the suicide scene? Maybe a body will rise to the surface and you can all gape and stare and giggle in kinky delight. ~ 

"Well that looked pretty final," Sunshine commented.

* * *

Morganna closed her eyes at the last moment. There was vast pain and when she opened them she found herself back at the subterranean river of Death.

She stormed over to the light of Charon's lamp.

"What are you doing back here?!" the boatman demanded from beside his still beached boat.

"Take me across." She ordered, pointing to the other side. "You fudged the bit with the building but I know for a fact there's no way I could've survived what just killed me."

"I can't." He growled back. "You're the Gate Keeper."

"You mentioned that last time." She said in annoyance. "What the hell is it supposed to mean?"

"You really don't know?" he peered at her as though her IQ was sliding into the negatives. "Can you be **that** stupid?"

"Hey!"

"Ignorant then," he amended.

Morganna snapped.

**_"I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK A GATEKEEPER IS AND I DON'T BLOODY CARE! JUST LET ME ACROSS THE FUCKING RIVER OR I'LL SHOVE THAT FUCKING LANTERN UP YOUR ARSE AND FOLLOW IT WITH YOUR OAR AND THE BLOODY BOAT ITSELF!"_**

"Oooh," Charon said, leaning back against the side of said boat. He fussily rearranged his filthy cloak before continuing. "Nice threat. Very descriptive. Needs a bit of polish though - your swearing is a tad awkward."

"_AARRGGHHH_!" Morganna raged, storming around and making wild gestures for a while.

Charon patiently waited until she could speak intelligibly again. 

"FINE then." She spat. "I'll just FLY across!" She clenched her will and tried to float over the river.

She swore for several minutes when it didn't work.

"I don't get it!" she yelled after she'd repeated herself several times. "It's not like I can't use my powers. I just-"

"Can't get across," Charon finished for her.

"Are you doing this?" she demanded. "This is all your fault isn't it?!"

"I'm not the one who got themself bonded to a Gate."

"You mean it's this things fault?" She held upthe Gate and glared at the filigree silver. "I'll get rid of it if that's the problem," she quickly offered and made to throw it away.

"Doesn't work that way kid," he told her shaking his head.

Morganna stared at the river. "I'll swim across then."

"Not a good idea," Charon disagreed. "That's the Lethe."

"The river of Forgetfulness?"

"Do you really want to get to the other side and not remember anything?"

Morganna's bottom lip trembled as the distraction of being angry at the boatman faded for a moment. "I just want to get back to them. It wouldn't hurt so much then."

She thought for a moment. "Isn't that meant to be the Styx?"

Charon looked as guilty as one can when their expression is hidden by a hood and quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, you **still** wouldn't be able to reach the other side."

"You're doing this on purpose aren't you?" she accused.

"You can't get to the other side," he told her again in the voice one uses when talking to people so dimwitted, the rear end of a cow could outthink them. He was starting to get annoyed. "You're the Gate Keeper. You can't die."

"Maybe I'm just not trying hard enough," she muttered in response. "That reminds me. Sunshine Eldridge says hi."

He looked a bit surprised, although with his hood still casting shadows it was hard to tell. 

"Tell her the next time she comes here she's going to pay for blowing out my lantern. I don't care how funny she thought it was," he grumped. "I almost fell into the river! This thing doesn't come with matches y'know!" He shook his cloak to prove his point and succeeded in wafting a mildewed smell in her direction.

"What do you mean?" she narrowed her eyes suspiciously and tried to ignore the stench. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here until you-"

Morganna blinked and coughed out dirty water. She was still by a river but it wasn't the Lethe - or the Styx. ~He never **did** say which it was~ she reflected. Sitting up on the muddy shore she wiped her face and spat out some more mud. "Uh gross."

"Morganna! You're alive!"

The mutant rolled her eyes at her luck and pushed back her sopping hair. ~ What a surprise ~ she thought as her best friend skidded down the slope to the river bank.

"No more miss nice-girl you badly dressed bastard," she promised the absent Charon. "Next time I'm going to steal your boat and if you get in my way I'll throw you into your damned river myself."

* * *

Alfred cursed as he sprinted up the stairs to the platform just in time to see the train pull away. "Damnation!" The young man looked about. "That was the train into the city wasn't it?" He asked a girl who looked a little younger than him who was sitting at the shaded bench.

"Yep," she agreed simply with a small smile in commiseration.

He looked around again. The station was out in the sticks so it was small and not surprisingly deserted. With nothing else to do he sat next to the girl in the shade.

"There'll be another train soon enough," she told him without looking up, tapping a pen against a notebook thoughtfully.

Dropping his backpack at his feet with a sigh, Alfred took a closer look at her. She looked a bit ragged around the edges and she wasn't wearing any shoes. Her chestnut hair was pulled back in a low ponytail while her red/brown eyes were intent on the notebook before her. 

"Curses and spindles!" he glared in the direction of the train he'd just missed. Irritably he pushed his hands through his dark blonde hair. "Late again. You'd think I'd be used to it by now."

"Did you just quote A Fireside Story'?" his companion looked up from the list she was compiling.

"Uh. Yeah," he nervously admitted.

"It's a classic isn't it?" she enthused. She smiled but it barely reached her eyes and there was still a tightness to her jaw.

"Oh yeah. What about the bit about where he convinced Noah only two Flendlers were needed to reproduce?"

She swallowed a chuckle. "One of my friends couldn't finish it. She said it was too scary."

He made a rude noise. "Does she cry in the Barney movie too?"

"I would," she shuddered. 

Alfred laughed in agreement. Who ever she was might be a bit tense but her sense of humour was intact. They talked for a time about various books and comics before he thought to ask what she was writing.

She glanced back at her notebook. "It's just a list," she shrugged.

He read over her shoulder; 

  * fall from a height
  * drown
  * overdose
  * suffocate
  * blood loss
  * gunshots
  * poison

Next to each was a tick.

~ That is one very weird list ~ he decided.

She must have recognised his expression. "Don't tell me you never wrote a list of different ways to die? Not even back at school?"

He shifted uneasily. The conversation was taking a very odd direction.

She smiled a touch sadly and let him off the hook by pointing out the approaching train. "Hope you're not too late." She patiently waited until he was safely inside the train before she dropped her things back on the bench and made her way to a distance in front of the train.

The doors closed, the engine powered up and she jumped.

* * *

"Why can't you let me through?"

"You're bonded to the Gate. You know that already!"

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

"That's life." Charon shrugged with an expression of disinterest.

"You're an ugly badly dressed-"

"Don't try to butter me up."

"You mean you like being ugly?"

"I hang out with the dead. No point in looking beautiful."

"What about love then? Or friends? What about good old pride in your appearance for Goddess' sake!?"

"Why bother? The bottom line for everything is Death, kid. Love, friendship, pride? What's the point? Everything ends and everything dies."

"You sound just like Sunny."

"She happens to be right."

"You're a depressing fellow aren't you?" Morganna said in exasperation.

"And how many times have you committed suicide now?" he asked pointedly.

She looked guilty but answered anyway. "Ten. Or eleven. The count gets a bit confusing."

There was a pensive pause.

"Why aren't I allowed across?" Since she was using a nearly calm tone of voice Charon replied in the same vein.

"You're the Gate Keeper."

"How did I end up as the stupid Gate Keeper? What did I do to deserve this?"

"You used the Gate without a chant." Charon decided to use short simple sentences. He guessed it was all she'd understand. "It latched onto you. You took your own life, completing the ritual and bonding yourself to it. You are the Gate Keeper Morganna. And no I don't know if there's a way to undo it. Live with it."

"I sort of have to don't I?!" she spat out accusingly. "This whole big complicated ritual of yours doesn't seem to involve knowing what the hell you're doing does it?"

The hideous old man raised his hands in a helpless gesture. "Who knows. Maybe it just likes you."

"LIKES ME?"

"It **has** saved your life. Frequently. This is becoming a habit. It's getting old. GO AWAY!"

She left. But not happily

* * *

"This hasn't been a very good time for the Clans of the Kindred," Sterne began. Like the rest of his clan, the Nosferatu was repulsively, hideously, ugly in the most repellent way. The clan as a whole avoided company and dwelt underground in tunnels and sewers. It wasn't entirely their idea as there weren't many places they would actually fit in. They were however the best sources of information and could be relied on to be blackmailing any number of more "powerful" Kindred at any given time.

Since their clans were usually allied, his friendship with Jess was generally accepted. So it was no surprise that after being missing for several months she'd gone to him for an update. Sunshine had offered but despite their friendship, Jess -rightly- still viewed her as crazy. The last time Sunny passed her information it had almost gotten her killed.

"So it's not only Mortals who are feeling the after effects?"

"All of our meals are paranoid now," he snorted in disgust. "It was bad enough when it was just those invaders in the tunnels, but now we've got Hunters running around."

"What!?" Jess felt uneasy. ~ I've been walking about without anyone telling me there were **hunters** here? Aaron might have just been distracted by seeing Lilith again but why didn't Sunny say anything? ~ she answered herself fairly quickly. ~ She probably thought it'd be funny to see if I got staked. ~ 

"Their pea sized brains can't comprehend an evil' that didn't originate with the Kindred so they're blaming it all on us." 

"Great." Jess shook her brown locks back and fumed. Natural good humour or no, the fact didn't change that an unknown number of people were now trying to kill her.

"So you're sure the deaths _weren't_ part of a Kindred plot?" Jess knew her kind and had to ask.

"I asked around," Jess cocked an eyebrow in surprise but didn't interrupt. "Some are making claims but nothing that can be backed up. There's some rumours it was a Malkavian prank but you know what it's like trying to get anything out of them..."

Jess nodded in resigned understanding. "Thanks. I guess I'd better pass this onto Lil."

"Where is your protege anyway?"

"Out and about trying to stop Morganna from taking her own life. It doesn't seem to be necessary though." She pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"Eh?"

"Morganna keeps coming back."

* * *

Morganna didn't know what to feel. She was so confused.

There was grief and frustration and anger and shock. It was all jumbled together and she was **still** trying not to think about it, so it swirled about inside her. A storm of emotions that she didn't want to face.

It was night again but she barely noticed.

She lifted the Gate and raised it to eye level. With what little energy she had left, she glared at it accusingly.

~ Why did you choose me? ~ She immediately had an odd flash of her last moments in the realm _Between_. She'd been standing in the middle of a Henge and she was talking - yelling rather - to Jess, Lil and the enigmatic being she'd named Shakespeare.

_"What ever the price, I will pay it." She said softly but firmly. "I want to go home."_

She remembered that her bloody finger had been pressed against the cool metal of the Gate the entire time she spoke.

Morganna staggered in shock at the thought that followed. ~ Oh Goddess. ~ Her knees wobbled. ~ Don't tell me it was taken as a blood oath. ~ 

She went through it again in her mind. ~ Oh Gods...~

Morganna was interrupted before she could complete the thought. Without realising it she'd wandered into a very dark and deserted part of the city. The alley she stood in was even complete with a group of armed shadowy figures.

One of them rushed forward and shoved a large gilt cross in her face.

"Ack!" She flinched back in shock. 

His companions hurried forward at her reaction. "Die child of evil!" was the cry she heard a moment before she was hit in the face by a large splash of water.

"Ugh Gross!" she yelled right back at them, instinctively hovering over their heads. "I almost swallowed some of that! I bet you just grabbed that from any old church."

"Um. Yeah." Was the timid reply.

"Don't you have any idea how unhygienic that stuff is?!"

By now the Hunters were confused. She was obviously one of those Evil Creatures because she'd flinched from the holy cross and was floating above their heads. That last one was a dead give-away. But instead of melting under the holy water she was complaining about bad hygiene.

Morganna could almost swear she saw each thought drift through their tiny brains. 

Water doesn't work. Must be bad water. 

A lightbulb went off above their heads.

Use a stake!

Morganna groaned. "I am sick of being mistaken for a-" She cut herself off abruptly. ~ Maybe this isn't such a bad idea. If the stake through the heart, decapitation, burning to ashes combination works for Kindred... It **might** work for a Gate Keeper. ~ 

The young mutant dropped back to the ground. "All right pea-brains. Get it over with."

The hunters gaped in surprise.

"Hurry up!" she snarled. In the darkness they wouldn't notice her suspicious lack of fangs. "Just make sure you do it correctly." She tried not to think of how much it was going to hurt. 

* * *

Lilith, Aaron, Jess and Sunshine arrived at the alley in time to see what was left of Morganna fade from a burning pyre into a smouldering corpse.

"Oh God, oh God," Aaron caught his girlfriend before she fell. There was a lot of blood in the alley. All of it was Morganna's.

"Hunters," he spat.

"Why didn't she just use her powers?" Lilith sobbed into his chest. "She's dealt with Hunters before..."

"She's been trying to die since she found out," Sunshine reminded them. 

"It looks like she finally succeeded." Jess said quietly, glancing at her crying protege.

Suddenly, light gathered about the body and even the bloodstains seemed to glimmer with starlight. The light grew until it was all they could see then vanished, taking with it what was left of Morganna's body including the blood stains.

The Kindred barely had time to gape before the shimmering light reappeared. It flared into intense brightness once more, forcing them to turn away. When they looked back Morganna stood there. Alive and well, pissed off and with company. 

"Actually **no**."

_To Be Concluded..._

* * *

_Morganna's gotten sick of dying and has something else on her mind. Just what happened on her last trip to the Other Side and how did it result in her becoming obsessed with retribution? And what will she do when she discovers the F.O.H. weren't the only ones involved in the massacre?_

Author's note: I haven't written part 4 (the final part) yet but since I know exactly what's going to happen, I'll write it as soon as I get enough feedback to make it worth my while. g

**Disclaimers:**

_The Mutant concept belongs to Marvel Comics. _

_Vampire: The Masquerade belongs to WhiteWolf_

_Greek mythology doesn't really belong to anyone. (anyway, writing Charon's too much fun to leave him stranded in the mythology books.)_

_Everything else belongs to me. _

_copyright Joy Pasieczny 1998_

   [1]: mailto:%20Joy_witch@hotmail.com



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